The Blood Brothers Quartet
by Donnamour1969
Summary: Sixth in my post-"Sonata" series. Inspired by the episode "The Ringer." Mick forms a jazz band to surprise Beth. But it can't really be that simple, can it? Author's Note: Thanks for all the great feedback; it really encourages me!
1. Chapter 1

"You're coming in too soon," I said to Josef, who was sitting at his piano. "You've got to wait until Guillermo starts on the drums, then Logan and I on our guitars. Why are you always so impatient?"

"I'm not a machine, Mick," said Josef melodramatically. I rolled my eyes. "I can't believe you talked me into the whole band thing again, anyway," he continued. " I mean, we tried this in the sixties—to mixed reviews, I might add."

"It's because you always came in too soon," Guillermo reiterated from his drum set. Josef flashed his fangs at him, but Guillermo just shrugged. "The truth hurts, man."

"And a band is the best way to get chicks," inserted Logan.

"We've got chicks," said Josef, Guillermo and I in unison.

"Well, you guys better get it together, cause my sex life is really suffering these days."

The rest of us tactfully made no comment, and covered our smirks with drinks of Scotch.

It had been my idea to get the old band back together again. After Coraline had turned me, I'd tried to live a normal life again, but I no longer had the heart—literally—to play with my human band anymore. So, I 'd met these vampires, who were now my friends, found they were all musically inclined, and coaxed them to put together this band. We were all pretty good separately, but put us together…well, let's just say teamwork wasn't our strong suit, at least, not where music was concerned. But we all loved jazz, so we practiced every night for weeks, as excited to play in a club as kids counting the days till Christmas. And despite the frustration of trying to get our musical styles and habits to mesh, I was greatly comforted by playing, and could feel some of the bitterness at being turned waning. Until Coraline began to get jealous.

At first she seemed to indulge me in my little "human" endeavor, dropping in on our jam sessions, smiling in mocking amusement. Then, she complained I never took her out anymore. And finally, she said we were wasting our time because the band sounded like dying cattle. That was the last straw. I permanently kicked her out of our rehearsals, and things between us went from bad to worse. To make a long story short, as surely as she had sucked the life out of me on our wedding night, she also killed my desire to play music ever again. Before that, I'd been on the road to—if not forgiving—_accepting _that she'd turned me into a vampire. But, taking away my music—that I would never forgive. Oh, I still loved it, and listened to it. I still frequented the jazz clubs, sometimes even with Coraline. But I put my guitar in the back of my closet, where it had gathered dust for the last forty years. Until now.

Beth had changed everything. I was happy now. We were in love. I smiled even at the thought. She made me feel young again, and that's saying a lot when you're nearing ninety. So, a couple of weeks before, I'd dusted off my guitar, called my former band mates, and, through much coaxing and many bribes, they agreed to try again. We met in Logan's warehouse basement apartment. It had great acoustics, and we didn't run the risk of Beth or Simone dropping in on us before our big debut. My buddy, Daryl Morgan, who owned the bar, The Stake and Fang, had live music on weekends. Three days from then, it was jazz night. That's why we'd been practicing so hard for two weeks. Daryl said that if we didn't suck—the irony of that slang not lost on us—it could be a regular gig for us. Our repertoire wasn't very big yet, but if we could get three or four songs down, that might be a good start. I stepped up to the mike, and adjusted my guitar strap.

"Okay, guys," I said, "Let's start from the top."

I got home around midnight that night, and Beth was waiting for me, asleep on my couch. I stashed my guitar and jacket in the front closet. She'd used the key I'd given her, and I saw she had the classic movie channel on the TV. I noticed it was "Abbot and Costello Meet Dracula." I chuckled and kneeled down on the floor beside her, brushing back the blonde hair that had fallen over her eyes. She stirred a little, and her lips slightly parted. I couldn't resist; I took her lips with mine. She didn't respond at first, then, I heard her heart accelerate as she became fully awake, and began kissing me back. Her hands slid into my hair, and suddenly I was on top of her, putting all I had into it. A few hot minutes passed, before I gently began trying to slow things down a little.

"Well, hello there," she said when we'd both managed a little control. She looked up at me in a daze, her fingers still playing with my hair.

"Hi," I replied, briefly kissing her mouth again. "Did we have a date? Sorry if I forgot."

"No," she said, trying to sit up. Reluctantly, I moved off her so she could. "I was just lonely, and thought I'd stop by. I must have fallen asleep." She absently rubbed her eyes and yawned. She glanced at the clock on a nearby lamp table. "Oh my gosh! I slept for two hours!"

I laughed. "You must have been tired _and_ lonely."

"It was a long day. So, what have you been up to this evening?" She asked curiously. The band was going to be a surprise. Which reminded me, I had to make sure she would be there Friday night. I'd have to tell a little white lie.

"I was working on a case," I told her, trying not to meet her eyes.

She looked at me suspiciously. "A case of Scotch, you mean." Oops. I guess my kisses gave away more than I'd intended.

"I had a drink with Josef earlier." The less said the better.

"And is he helping you with this…case?"

"Yeah, his input has been invaluable." I smiled inside, remembering how he'd finally gotten his timing right on that last song. We were sounding pretty good. Now, if Logan would just stop trying to put a rock spin on his bass guitar…

"Mick? Are you listening to me?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry. Just thinking about the, uh…case."

"Right. Nothing you can share with me?" It was still hard for me to get away with lying to her now, and judging by the way she was looking at me, she wasn't buying anything I was telling her.

"Not yet. But hey, what are you doing Friday night? It's jazz night at Daryl's bar. You wanna go?"

"Gee, I don't know Mick," she said, mildly sarcastic. "You've been busy practically every night for the past couple weeks. You sure you have time?"

This was starting to sound annoyingly familiar. She's not Coraline. She's not Coraline. I had to say it a few times in my head so I would remember that. Beth wasn't going to go crazy on me and stake me to keep me home like Coraline did one time. I tried to remain reasonable. After all, technically I _was_ lying to her.

"Please Beth. I'll make it up to you. Just come with me Friday, and I know you'll have a great time."

She considered me a minute, and then decided to trust me.

"Okay. On one condition."

Here it comes, I thought. The demands. The pleading. The hurt . The anger.

"What condition?"

"You finish what you started here on the couch," she said suggestively, reaching out to unbutton my shirt. As I began helping her undress too, feeling the warmth of her skin and the softness of her loving gaze upon me, I remembered that she most definitely was _not_ Coraline.

When I awoke in the morning, I was in Mick's bed, but Mick wasn't. He had bought the bed while he had been briefly human from Coraline's vampire "cure," but it had been delivered after he'd already been turned back by Josef. I was happy he'd decided to keep it anyway. And I was also happy that he'd finally bought sheets for it. I saw the note on his pillow—he loved to leave me silly little notes when he had to leave me too soon.

_Catching some zzzz's in the freeze. I love you._

I laughed and groaned at the same time. I remembered my clothes were still downstairs where he'd taken them off. I padded down the carpeted steps, completely naked, flinching as the morning sun shone too brightly through the open blinds. Just when I got to the couch, Mick's front door opened, and in stepped Josef. For a minute, we stared at each other in shock. Then, Josef smiled evilly and stood there, basking in the warmth of my embarrassment.

"Well, well, well. So very nice to _see _you Beth."

Bending over to get my clothes would just make matters worse. I finally just decided to stand proudly, though flushed from head to toe, and face it like a modern woman, unashamed by my nudity. Yeah, right.

"Turn around Josef, so I can put on my clothes." I'm sure I looked hilarious, naked, with my hands on my hips.

"No way. This is too much fun."

"Mick will kill you if he finds you leering at me."

"Yeah, but think of the last vision I would have before he cut me down. Hey, you _are_ a natural blonde."

I threw a couch pillow at him. It missed by a mile, but was a momentary distraction so that I could bend down to pick up my clothes, and practically ran back toward the stairs. His mocking laughter followed me all the way up.

Angry and embarrassed, I hastily dressed, then debated whether or not to wake up Mick so he could tear Josef limb from limb. I walked to the stairs again and peaked down. Josef was in the kitchen, helping himself to a glass of blood, lacing it with a liberal shot of vodka. I know he heard me, as any vampire would, so I descended like a queen, trying to act as if I'd forgotten the incident.

"Don't you ever sleep?" I asked him rather rudely.

He chuckled in appreciation of my foul mood. "I was just on my way home. I had to drop something off for Mick." He indicated a large envelope on the counter. " I assume he's in the deep freeze?"

"Yes, lucky for you." So much for forgetting the incident. For something to do, I began making coffee. "I'll tell him you stopped by," I said dismissively.

"Now, Beth. We're two adults. Surely we can get past this. Believe me, you have nothing to be ashamed of. As a matter of fact, now I understand what all the fuss was about." I turned to face him, and he was right behind me, grinning from ear to ear. He slowly backed me up against the counter, leaning against me… to reach the cabinet above me. He opened it and withdrew a swizzel stick, smirking at my surprised reaction.

"Oh, excuse me," he said, not the least bit apologetic. He used the swizzle stick for his drink, then downed it in a gulp. "Well, this has been uh…very nice, but I do need to get home to my own cooler. Something tells me I'll be having some very pleasant dreams today." He grinned again.

I could think of nothing to say to that, so I watched him stroll casually out of the kitchen, back through the living room, and out the door again, closing it behind him with a soft _click. _I released the breath I'd been holding, and looked down at the envelope curiously. No, I wouldn't violate Mick's privacy, but I somehow knew the contents of it would explain what they'd been up to these past two weeks. I was proud of myself for resisting the urge. I happened to glance at the clock on the wall. Crap! I was late for work. I shut off the coffee maker before it had even had a chance to perk, grabbed my purse, slipped on my shoes, and made my way out the door.


	2. Chapter 2

Simone met me for lunch that afternoon. The topic inevitably turned to the guys. Our vampire guys.

"Josef has been too busy for me lately," Simone was saying over her grilled chicken salad. "The cover story seems to be that he and Mick are working on a case together."

I nodded. "That's Mick's story too. I wonder what they're _really _up to?" We sat a minute in silence, munching on our salads. "Josef brought over a big envelope to Mick's this morning. I could have looked in it, but I was respectful, and didn't."

"That's admirable," Simone replied, meaning it. "I know I couldn't have resisted." She thought a moment. "Say, you think Mick is still sleeping? You have a key to his place, right? We could just sneak in, and…"

"No, way, Simone. I have a feeling this is more 'vampire business', and I'm going to stay out of it."

"Come on, Beth. Aren't you the least bit curious?"

"Of course I am. But what if we get caught? I don't want to betray his trust—again." I'd recently had to explain to him why I'd kept Dean Foster's pictures from him, then I'd had to tell Ben Talbot that Mick and Josef were vampires. I'd been trying to redeem myself by being a good girl, even though Mick swore he had forgiven me. I didn't want to be in that position again.

"I have an idea—_I'll_ open the envelope. Then, you won't have to worry about betraying anybody."

"I've created a monster," I murmured ruefully. Simone and I had become good friends, mainly because I'd included her in on my recent hijinxs where our vampires were concerned. We'd definitely had some adventures, and Simone used to be my reluctant cohort. Those days seemed to be long gone now.

She laughed. "It's all your fault, and you know it," she said, mirroring my thoughts. "Come on, Beth. You know you want to."

Oh, I more than wanted to. Those reporter instincts didn't go away just because I worked in the DA's office now. The little devil on my shoulder was agreeing with Simone. Technically, if _I _didn't look in that envelope_, I_ wouldn't be the one betraying Mick. I tried to make myself hold out a little longer.

"Shouldn't we have learned our lesson last time?" I asked.

"Yes, I know better now than to crash a vampire poker game or get in the crossfire of psychopathic Cleaners. But this situation is entirely different. We're just opening a little envelope."

"I'm sure Pandora had the same reasoning." I was definitely not used to being the persuad_ee_, as I usually was the persuad_er_. To be honest, it really wasn't taking much persuasion on Simone's part. I pulled out my purse and laid out more than enough money to cover our lunch and the tip.

"Let's go. Mick could be waking up any time."

She giggled uncharacteristically and nearly raced me to the door.

Outside Mick's apartment, I tried to think of excuses for why Simone and I would have shown up on his figurative doorstep. Had I left an article of clothing there? I didn't think so, but that excuse would just have to do. Not wanting to disturb him, for vampires could sometimes hear even when they're upstairs sleeping in their freezers, I pressed the remote key entry and peaked inside. It was quiet. I didn't want to risk calling for him. I motioned for Simone to follow me. We were in.

We tiptoed through the living room and into the kitchen, where the envelope still remained on the counter. "That's it." I whispered. Simone eagerly picked it up, opened the metal clasp, and looked inside. She pulled out a key card from a downtown hotel. It was encased in its own little sleeve that had the room number on it: 1027. And a packet of papers. She turned each page, scanning it quickly while I nervously looked toward the stairs.

"It's a list," she said. "Of what, I'm not sure."

"Not another list!" I exclaimed in whispered terror.

"It's not a list of names. It looks to be titles of something. Movies? Books? I don't recognize any of them."

Tamping down my earlier guilt, I held out my hand. "Let me see."  
I read a few titles. _Salt Peanuts, Satin Doll, You Better Know It, Need Your Love So Long, Fever, A Sinner Kissed an Angel…._There were several pages of them.

"I think these are…songs."

"Okay." Simone almost seemed disappointed that it wasn't something more sinister. "Well, that doesn't tell us much." A slip of sticky note paper we hadn't noticed before suddenly floated to the floor. I picked it up. _7:00 Friday, _was the simple message in Josef's flowery handwriting.

"I think this had been stuck to the key card," Simone said. "Do you suppose this is a meeting time for the hotel room?" Lots of paranoid thoughts flickered through my mind. No, this is Mick we're talking about. Oh, and Josef. Paranoia returned.

"Do you think this could be a freshie party?" I asked shakily. We looked at each other in wonder. Just then, we heard a noise upstairs. The vampire had arisen. "Let's go!" I hissed. I hastily returned the contents of the envelope and placed it back on the counter. We made it to the door in what seemed like vampire speed, and I tried to shut the heavy door as softly as I could. We literally ran to the elevator, and I pounded on the button. We were lucky and it opened right away, but the unfortunate man inside was nearly knocked down in our haste to get in. We apologized and sighed in relief as the door closed behind us.

I yawned and stretched, sitting up in my freezer. The clock said one o'clock p.m. I was pulling on my pajama bottoms when I thought I heard a noise downstairs. I listened a moment longer, and heard muffled running feet and the click of the front door. I scrambled to the stairs and made it to the monitor by the door. No one was there, but I could still smell Beth's perfume in the air. And—I inhaled deeply—Simone had been here too. I wondered what that was all about. Women. I'd stopped even trying to figure them out. I walked back to the kitchen, thinking with a smile about our passionate night together. Now that was something I understood. It was then that I saw a large manila envelope resting on the counter, and I picked it up curiously.

Inside was the key for the hotel room Josef had reserved for the band Friday night before our gig. We were supposed to meet there for a final fitting of the matching suits Josef insisted we wear.

"If I'm going to be on the stage with you clowns," he had said, " at least I want to look good."

Tonight , before we practiced, his private tailor was supposed to take our measurements. Josef had no doubt the suits would be ready in time, even though we performed the next night. He was used to getting his way, and no doubt the poor tailor would be working round the clock.

The other thing in the envelope was a list of songs. We couldn't decide on another song for our set, so Josef had composed a list of his favorites, some that we had performed together long ago. I had my doubts that we could perfect a new one before tomorrow night, but once Josef set his mind on something, well…ask his tailor about that.

I read through the list while I drank my breakfast, and one song stood out that I thought would be perfect, and relatively easy to play. Another plus was that I also still remembered all the words. I smiled at the thought of Beth hearing me sing this one to her—it fit how I felt about her perfectly. I couldn't wait for her reaction.

I dressed and did some accounting work in my office, realizing that my business had suffered lately, since I hadn't had time to take on any new cases. After a couple hours of that, I called Beth. It wouldn't be long before she got off work.

"Hi, Mick," said Beth in her sultry just-for-me voice.

"Hello sweetheart. I guess I just missed you when you and Simone were here this afternoon."

"Uh…yeah. I figured you were still asleep and we didn't want to wake you. Simone had been out to lunch with me and tagged along …"she trailed off with no further explanations.

"Did you forget something at my place?" I prompted.

"Yeah." Abruptly, she changed the subject. "So, do you have any plans tonight?"

Sometimes my mind spun at her thought processes. I shook my head in amusement. "Josef and I will be working again tonight, but I might be able to come by later, if you will be up." Again, I hated keeping secrets from her, as we had agreed not to do in the past, but this was a surprise, not a deep, dark, life-threatening secret. That was how I was going to justify it to her, anyway. She was hesitating, and I could almost hear her annoyed expression.

"Sure," she said dully, "what time, do you think?"

"Is midnight too late again? I don't want you to be too tired for work." That's probably why she was so annoyed. I'd kept her awake quite late last night, not that she had seemed to mind much at the time.

"I'll be awake. Come on by."

"Okay." I wasn't used to the coldness in her tone, especially after our hot night last night. "Are you mad at me about something?"

"No!" Her tone changed again. "No, of course not. I'm sorry, I'm just a little distracted. And I've missed you lately. I know you've been busy…"

"Yeah, but I'll make it up to you, I promise. Last night was a start, wasn't it?"

I could hear the smile in her voice. "And I thought Josef's ego was big," she said. Where did _that_ comment come from? "I guess a few more nights like that, and all will be forgiven."

"I look forward to it. I'll see you later?"

"Yes, you will," she said, now using her bossy tone, then, softly: "I love you, Mick."

"I love you too, Beth." And, on that happy note, we said our goodbyes.

Of course, Josef's tailor had to be a woman. And she'd brought along her helpers—also female. The four of us stood somewhat impatiently at Logan's place, while the scantily clad beauties took our measurements. Logan and Josef seemed to enjoy the entire experience. Guillermo and I were just annoyed.

"I don't see why this is necessary," I said to Josef, watching in alarm as my inseam was measured.

"In my continuing quest to improve your style, I thought this was the perfect excuse to get you to wear something other than one of those damn henleys of yours." Josef always wore designer suits, expertly tailored. I was a jeans kind of person, as were the other guys.

"Well, don't you think matching suits are a little much? And nothing too flashy. I mean, it's not that kind of bar."

He laughed. "Don't worry, Mick, your masculinity will be well-protected, I assure you."

The tailors finished up, hastening to reassure Josef that all would be ready and perfect by show time. With all he was likely paying them, I certainly hoped so, for their sakes.

We got down to business, practicing the song I'd suggested from Josef's list. It sounded so good, we agreed that it should be the first one we played. This was our final rehearsal, and we were all satisfied with the four songs we'd be playing. Our teamwork had improved dramatically, and we actually sounded like a band, rather than a group of individuals.

"Hey, we sound much better than we ever did in the sixties," Guillermo was saying, as he packed up his drum set.

"Yeah, and maybe this time the girls will be swarming us." Logan said, as he put his bass guitar in its case.

"You seriously need to get laid, my friend," said Josef.

"I'm working on it. I mean, look at me. I'm going to be out. At night. In a bar. That's a major step for me, I'm telling you." We all knew he was more comfortable playing Guitar Hero than clubbing for women.

"Well, a guy's got needs, and they can't just be met through an online porn site." Logan's face reddened. I took pity on him.

"Leave him alone, Josef. We can't all have your uh…self-confidence." Or overinflated ego, I thought. I slung my guitar over my shoulder by its strap. It was approaching midnight, and I hated to keep Beth waiting. Guillermo and Logan went upstairs to load the drum set into Guillermo's van. Daryl's club had a piano, so Josef didn't have to worry about getting his there.

"By the way," Josef said on our way up the stairs. "Did Beth tell you I saw her this morning when I dropped off those songs?"

"No, she didn't mention it."

He smirked. "I didn't suppose she would, although she promised she'd tell you I'd come by."

I paused at the landing. "What did you do, Josef?" I asked suspiciously.

"Nothing, Mick. Absolutely nothing. You would have been proud." I knew I wasn't going to get any more than that out of him. I'd have to see what Beth had to say about it later.


	3. Chapter 3

**Personal Disclaimer: Please excuse the occasional silliness of this chapter. I can only justify it by saying I watched too many "Three's Company" and "I Love Lucy" episodes as a child.**

I heard Mick's soft knock at a little after midnight. When I opened the door, he immediately took me into his arms, kissing me with wild abandon. I kissed him back wholeheartedly—until I smelled the perfume. He reeked of it. Expensive stuff I recognized only from smelling it at the perfume counter. I pulled back immediately, my mind trying to absorb this bit of information. Do I confront him? Will I sound too possessive?

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"No. Come in." He followed me to the small living area. I hoped he would interpret my pounding heart as lust for him—which, of course, it partly was—but now it was mainly because he was keeping things from me. I guessed it would only be fair if I gave him the chance to come clean on his own.

"Would you like something to drink?" I asked him.

"No, thanks."

He seemed to be bursting at the seams about something, excited and happy. But he wasn't sharing any of that with me.

"How's the case going?" I asked him, trying my best to sound normal. I wondered how I could endure the small talk.

"It's going great. Josef and I have it all worked out."

"Really. That's great."

"Are you still coming to the bar with me tomorrow night? I'll have to meet you there, I'm afraid. Around nine?"

"Sure." I waited a few minutes more. He seemed fidgety, on edge. He stood up and began pacing the room a little. I couldn't stand it.

"Is something bothering you, Mick? You're gonna wear a hole in my carpet."

"Oh, sorry." He sat down again. "I'm just excited to hear some good jazz tomorrow. It will be so nice to uh, hear it after all these years."

"You listen to jazz all the time," I said.

"Yes, but there's nothing like a live band."

"True," I agreed. "I can't wait to finally see inside Daryl's bar. And to see him and Carrie, of course."

"Yeah, they're great people." His foot was literally tapping. I don't think I'd ever seen him this nervous before. Well, maybe when I'd caught him feeding on Simone. I gritted my teeth at that memory.

"Look, Mick. I'm sorry, but could you take a rain check for tonight? I'm really tired, and I have to get up early tomorrow." I didn't have to fake my yawn. I didn't know whether I should have been annoyed or relieved by how quickly he accepted my dismissal.

"That's okay, Beth. I understand. And I'm sorry I've kept you up so late lately. After tomorrow—well, things should be calming down some." He was standing up again, this time to set off for the door. I followed him there, and let him lean down to kiss me sweetly. For a minute, I felt desperation seep into my kiss, and I pulled him more tightly to myself. I couldn't bear the thought that I might be losing him.

"I'll see you tomorrow night," he finally whispered against my lips. He gave me a rare smile, and went out the door. I watched him walk down the hall and disappear into the stairwell. He had left me with nothing but questions, and the lingering smell of designer perfume.

If you asked me what I accomplished Friday at work, I wouldn't be able to tell you, although the "in" file was considerably thinner than it had been that morning. I kept kicking myself. I should have confronted him. About the perfume. About the hotel key. The late nights. All of it. But I hadn't. Why? Well, fear, obviously. While I knew there could be some logical, innocent explanation for all of it, there could also be a painful, life-altering explanation too. Hence, my silence.

So, at five o'clock, I took a deep breath, shut down my computer, and waved goodbye to Ben Talbot on my way out. Still four hours until I would see Mick at the bar. I would go home, make myself a good dinner—pasta, maybe. I'd have a glass of wine and take a long bath. I'd dress in my hottest cocktail dress, my highest heals, and meet him as planned. At this point, that's all I could do, right? I had no earthly idea what the evening would bring, but I had a sick feeling that I should savor every moment I might have left with Mick.

The moment I shut my car door, Simone called.

"Hey," she greeted me. "I hear you're going to be at Daryl Morgan's club with Mick for jazz night."

"Yeah, that's the plan," I told her.

"Josef invited me too. I'm set to meet him there. You want to make this a double-date?"

"Sure. Why not?"

"Great! First, though, we have a seven o'clock date at a certain hotel. Room 1027?"

"Oh, Simone. What's the point? I'm not sure I really want to know."

"Well, I do. If Josef is somehow enabling Mick's uh, _indiscretions_, I want to know about it. And if Josef is directly involved in said indiscretions, I want to know so I can kick his ass. You game?"

I sat in my car, hesitating. I guess it would be better to know. I would not tolerate him being unfaithful, or drinking from a freshie, which to me was about the same thing. These things would be a deal-breaker. And, as painful as it would be, I guess allowing him to play me for a fool would compound the heartbreak. And if this was all an innocent misunderstanding, well, I knew how to grovel.

"Okay. I'll meet you in the parking lot of the hotel at seven-fifteen. We shouldn't show up right when they do."

"Agreed. See you there."

So, I followed my original self-pampering plan, but I just wasn't as leisurely about it. When I arrived at the hotel, I was feeling strong and resolved. I told myself I wasn't going to fall apart until I knew for sure what was going on. Simone and I met and went inside, looking around constantly lest we be spotted by one of the guys. We got off the elevator on the tenth floor, and found room 1027.

"Should we knock?" I whispered.

"Not yet. Let's listen a minute."

With one last look to make sure no one was coming down the hall, we pressed our ears softly against the door, facing each other. I felt like the worst kind of eavesdropper. Until I heard what I did.

"My crotch feels really tight." It was a man's voice. _Guillermo? _I mouthed. Simone nodded.

"Let me help you with that," came the sexy feminine reply.

"Does my ass look too big?" Logan's voice?

"No, baby, it's just right," a different woman replied.

"I just want to take it off right now!" That was Mick. No doubt about it. I gave Simone an outraged look.

"Sweetheart, this feels so good against my skin. You really know what you're doing." Josef.

I had to clamp my hand over Simone's mouth. We listened a minute more, but nothing else was discernable, except the soft sounds of a woman's humming and a suggestion of men grunting in approval. I pulled Simone away from the door and we walked a ways down the hall.

"I'm going to kill him," Simone hissed angrily. "Let's go knock the damn door down!"

"No," I said. "Let me think." Before, I had been resigned to giving up Mick without a fight, because somehow I had always felt that maybe it wasn't meant to be, that our relationship would someday die a natural death (or as natural as anything where vampires were concerned). Granted, I had thought this might come when I was much older, but I was still young, and fighting mad.

"We're going to serve our revenge cold," I said. "We'll wait for them at the bar, but we won't be waiting alone." Simone smiled—a very evil, Grinch-like smile.

"Beth, you're brilliant." Well, that remained to be seen.

The Stake and Fang was a downtown pub owned and operated by Daryl and Carrie Morgan. They were a married couple who just happened to be vampires, and good friends of Mick's. I'd gotten to know them when they'd helped me get Mick, Josef and the guys out of a jam, and their help had proved invaluable. So it was with great curiosity that I entered their bar. I guess I had some preconceived notions of what a vampire bar would look like—black and red, with Goth looking characters mingling and showing their fangs. Not the case at all. I looked around and had no idea who—if anyone—was a vampire. If there were any, they weren't being obvious about it.

The place looked in fact like an Irish pub, with a mahogany bar, and booths lining the walls. For jazz night, there were several candlelit, round tables clustered near a small stage, where a drum set and a piano waited for their players. Until the show started, a juke box softly played classic rock. It was old-fashioned, but very charming.

Simone and I walked in together, disheartened, but determined to exact our revenge on our wayward vampires. Daryl, tending the bar, noticed our arrival immediately. He called us over.

"Ladies—so nice of you to join us. Can I get you a drink?" His smile was breathtaking in his handsome face. He could almost be called beautiful, if it weren't for the thick muscles in his neck and the bulging biceps and pecks clearly outlined beneath his red t-shirt that brought an edge to his perfection. If he hadn't been married, I would have been happy to use him for my revenge. We sat on the high barstools.

"Sure," I said. "Tequila, please." Simone looked at me in surprise, but ordered the same.

"Have you seen Josef and Mick?" Simone asked.

He hesitated, which to me immediately set off alarms in my head. "Uh, I'm sure they'll be here any time." That didn't really answer my question, but I let it go. He looked a little taken aback as I downed my shot and asked for another.

"Go easy on that stuff," he warned good-naturedly, "it kinda sneaks up on you."

"But we're celebrating," I said. "I love a good jazz band!" My sarcasm wasn't lost on him, and he was saved by the lovely distraction which was his wife, Carrie. She too was dressed in a red t-shirt, which I noticed had the Stake and Fang logo on the pocket, and black slacks. Her long, curly, black hair was pulled into a ponytail, and she wore black ballet flats on her feet.

_Hi Beth. Simone. Good to see you again. _Carrie was a telepath, in addition to being a vampire. She couldn't read minds, but she was mute, so her main way to communicate was to put her thoughts in your head. It was a little disconcerting at first, but you got used to it. My past experience had shown that she could only "talk" to one mind at a time, but tonight I realized she could pick and choose who she did that with, because Simone and I both seemed to have heard her thoughts at the same time.

"Glad to be here. You two have a nice place."

_Thanks. So, you girls like jazz? _

"Yeah, but Mick and Josef seem to like it much more," said Simone almost bitterly. I elbowed her lightly in the ribs.

_Well, enjoy. I need to see to the sound system._

A couple of nice-looking guys sat down next to us. I looked at Simone, who nodded in agreement. They would do. While Daryl was getting their drinks, I tried to strike up a conversation. Simone got up and took her drink to the stool by the other guy. Two more rounds later, and we were laughing like we'd known each other forever. They told us their names, but I'd forgotten them almost immediately.

We'd gotten there a little early to put our plan into motion, but now more and more people were trickling in and taking their places at the bar or near the stage.

"Hey, let's get a table before they're all taken. I think the show's about to start." Daryl's keen vampire hearing caught my words, and he led us to a table up front, removing the "reserved" sign for us. He seemed a little put off when we brought our new friends with us. Mick and Josef were nowhere to be found. I wondered if they had been so busy in the hotel room that they'd forgotten about our date.

"I think we've been stood up," murmured Simone so the men wouldn't hear.

"Yeah. It looks that way." My disappointment was sharp, but I would do my best to try to have fun, just to spite them.

Daryl stepped up onto the stage and turned on the microphone. "Thank you all for joining us for live jazz night here at the Stake and Fang. We have a great show on tap, with a very special amateur band to start us off. So, please give it up for… The Blood Brothers Quartet!"


	4. Chapter 4

We waited backstage, all of us very nervous, a rare feeling for a vampire. The suits Josef ordered were actually very cool—midnight blue, with black lapels, narrow pants, skinny black tie, white silk shirt. Very much like the suits worn by performers in the early sixties. We all had our hair slicked back to complete the sixties vibe, and I was definitely experiencing some déjà vu. I peeked out the dressing room door to survey the audience. I wish I hadn't. My eyes zeroed in, despite the darkness, on the front table we'd reserved for Beth and Simone. They were there all right, but not alone. Two male vampires were cozying up to them, not realizing the danger they were in just by talking to our women. Josef needed to see this too.

"Hey, come here and have a look at these unlucky bastards," I said to him.

When Josef saw them, he was instantly furious. "Shall we rip their heads off now, or wait till after the show?"

Well, that was a quandary. "The girls don't even realize they're vampires, I'm sure of it. But they don't seem to be trying to discourage them, either." I was starting to have a bad feeling about this, on so many levels. Guillermo and Logan came up behind us to try to see what was going on.

"That's not good," said Logan, as usual, stating the obvious.

"I think you can take them," Guillermo said encouragingly.

I literally held Josef back. "Wait. We don't want to disturb the peace of Daryl's bar, do we?"

I saw the struggle over his emotions clearly on his face. His lowered fangs were a big clue too.

"Fine, but if they take one misstep while we're performing, all bets are off. They must be able to sense that these women are already taken, so there are really no excuses."

Just then, Daryl got on the stage to introduce us. Logan and I grabbed our guitars, Guillermo his drumsticks, and, as the lights went up, we filed on to the stage, Josef in the lead. Josef and Guillermo took their places at their instruments, and Logan stood at my side. The audience clapped enthusiastically, and I enjoyed the shocked expressions from Beth and Simone. Coolly, I put my guitar strap over my shoulders, and adjusted the mike. Then, I looked straight at Beth's table. One of the vamps was nuzzling Beth's neck. I could feel Josef's anger swelling behind me, and I hoped I could nip this in the bud right now.

"Thank you," I said to the audience. "Before we get started, I'd like to send a little message to the guys at the front table. Yeah, you. Get your asses away from our women, or we'll snap your necks like toothpicks." I said it with a smile, and the crowd laughed and cheered, but the vamps at the table met my eyes, and knew I was quite serious. They held up their palms apologetically, and casually slipped away to the back of the room. I guess they saw how they were seriously outnumbered. Beth and Simone were most definitely pissed off. Beth sat back in her chair, arms crossed angrily. Something was very off here. But the show must go on. I looked around at the band, and they nodded to me in satisfaction.

"Here's an oldie from Little Willie John. This is dedicated to my Beth here at the front table." I gave her a wink amidst the scattering of applause. "Okay, boys, hit it! 1-2-3!" Guillermo started us off with a soft brush on the cymbal. Logan joined in on the bass guitar, picking up the beat. Josef tinkled the intro on the piano, while I began lightly strumming.

I met Beth's eyes with a smile, and began to sing…

_Never knew how much I loved you._

_Never knew how much I cared._

_When I put my arms around you_

_You give me fever that's so hard to bear…_

Simone and I sat there in awe. Well, this explained a lot. The long nights, the song list. It didn't exactly explain the hotel room, but I was suddenly through with second-guessing. And to think, we had almost ruined it for them. I felt so ashamed.

They played four numbers, two instrumental, and I was wowed by their talent. Even their matching vintage-style suits were great. The rest of the audience seemed impressed too, if the applause was any indication. The last song was my favorite by Frank Sinatra, and as Mick sang it, in a more soulful way than even Old Blue Eyes, I felt my tears well up. I glanced at Simone, and saw similar emotion on her face.

_Fly me to the moon_

_I want to play among the stars_

_Let me see what spring is like_

_On Jupiter and Mars._

_In other words, hold my hand…_

At the end of the song, we were on our feet, cheering and whistling with the rest. They bowed and thanked the crowd, then went to the back to put up their instruments. I'd never seen them so thrilled. While they were gone, I looked again at Simone.

"We are such idiots," I said.

She wiped at her eyes with a Kleenex. "Yeah. Uh, let's not mention this ever again, deal?"

"Deal," I agreed.

Mick and Josef joined us at the table in a few minutes, wiping their brows with their pocket squares. They took off their suit jackets and draped them on the backs of their chairs. Guillermo and Logan went right to the bar to get a drink and maybe pick up some unescorted ladies that were sitting there. Before he could sit down, I threw my arms around him, hugging him with all my might.

"That was great, Mick. I'm so proud of you guys!" He laughed out loud, with more abandon than I'd ever seen him.

"That was a blast!" he said, kissing me quickly and hugging me again. With a deep sigh of relief, he sat next to me. Josef, less demonstrative, was still smiling ear-to-ear, obviously proud of himself. Simone kissed his cheek with a loud smack.

"Yeah, we were pretty good, weren't we?" said Josef confidently. I didn't argue with him. Daryl and Carrie came over to offer their congratulations, and offered them a chance to play there again sometime. The guys agreed enthusiastically.

Another band was making its way to the stage, and the guys ordered drinks from the waitress. We sat back to enjoy the rest of the music, Mick holding my hand beneath the table. In the lull between bands, we had a few minutes to talk again.

"So, you girls seemed upset about something earlier. What was that all about?"

We looked at each other.

"Beth, you tell him." What? I was gonna kill her later.

"Well…I've got a confession to make. I peeked in that envelope Josef left at your place the other day. I saw that key card and the note about meeting there at seven tonight. I'm sorry—I shouldn't have done it. It was Simone's idea." There, take that.

"And so you girls showed up at the room. I didn't hear you knock, but I thought I'd smelled you outside the door later. I thought it was my imagination."

"We didn't knock." I knew I was blushing. "We just…eavesdropped." I squinted my eyes closed, waiting for the explosion.

"And what did you hear that made you so mad, Beth? Women's voices?" Surprisingly, he didn't seem angry; just amused.

"Yeah!" interrupted Simone. "We heard talk of crotches and clothes coming off and lots of humming." So much for never mentioning this again. I gave her an annoyed look.

"What?" Josef said, puzzled. Then, realizing what we must have heard, he burst out laughing. Mick joined in a second later. When they had finally calmed down, they were actually holding their stomachs in pain. I didn't think laughing could hurt a vampire.

"Beth," he said, "you must have heard Josef's tailors, giving us the final fitting of our suits."

"A fitting? They're women?"

"Yeah. They work for Josef. Of course, they're women. Oh, Beth. Next time, just ask me instead of jumping to these ridiculous conclusions."

I hung my head, clamping my hands over my eyes in embarrassment. "You're right, I know. It was all very stupid."

"And we promise not to pick up guys anymore to make you jealous."

"Simone!"

"Well, as long as we're playing true confessions here, we may as well get it all out."

This announcement did not get any laughs. Josef turned to her, seriously angry. "Try not to ever pick up _anybody_ in a vampire bar."

"What? You mean, they were—"

Mick nodded. "I'm sure they noticed your various bite marks. They were after a free meal—and probably more than that. But you encouraged them, didn't you? That's why they didn't care that they could smell other vampires on you."

"We honestly had no idea, Mick," I said in shock.

"Well, Thelma and Louise strike again," said Josef, suddenly chuckling. His mood swings would give me whiplash. I didn't know how Simone could stand it.

"I seriously thought about bashing my guitar over their heads," said Mick. I tried not to smile at that image.

"You know, it would have been helpful if you guys would have told us what you were up to," I said a little defensively. "We agreed to no more secrets."

"It wasn't a secret, exactly. It was a surprise. If we weren't any good, I wouldn't have wanted you to hear us. Oh, and by the way—why didn't you pass along Josef's message the other day when he came by."

I saw Josef smirking. "Lucy," he said, in his best Ricky Ricardo imitation, "you've got some 'splainin' to do."

I blushed. "You go first, Josef." After all, I'd done nothing wrong that time.

"Okay, but you're responsible for my death or dismemberment. Mick, I saw Beth au naturel. Nude. Naked. Unclothed. In the raw. In her birthday suit. In the buff. In dishabille. In the altogether. Without a—"

"Josef, we get the idea. And how did this happen…buddy? You let yourself into my apartment without knocking again, didn't you?"

"Now, Mick. I knew you were probably asleep, and I didn't want to disturb you. I didn't know you were having a sleepover."

"My point exactly. Now, I hope that's a lesson to you."

"It certainly is," replied Josef. "Next time, I'll come earlier so I can see the whole show."

"Josef—" Mick roared, standing up to belt him one, I was sure. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Daryl beginning to head toward our table to break up a possible fight.

"Hey!" I said, my hand on Mick's shoulder, trying to pull him back down. "Nothing happened. It was an accident. Sit down, Mick, the next band is about to come out." With one last dirty look at his grinning friend, Mick took his chair again. Daryl smiled at me and waved a little in relief.

As the mellow, more modern band began playing, I leaned over and whispered into Mick's ear.

"You are so talented. I'm glad you're playing again."

"It's because of you, Beth. You gave me my music back." His mouth moved from my ear to my lips, and I kissed him like we were the only ones in the room.

**NOTE: Okay, I went for the sweet, romantic ending. I did have an alternate ending planned, with a big barroom brawl and Mick actually hitting one of the vamps over the head with his guitar. That would have been fun to write, I admit. I guess I really wanted Mick to have his music back, without being spoiled by Beth's unfounded jealousy or threatening their relationship. I hope you liked this ending instead. **


End file.
